Mountaineering boot

ABSTRACT

A mountaineering boot having: a vamp designed to accommodate the user&#39;s foot and ankle, roughly up to calf height; a sole unmovably fixed to the bottom of the vamp to cover the underside of the user&#39;s foot; a substantially sock-shaped outer gaiter which completely covers the vamp grazing the outer surface of the vamp up to the top of the bootleg of the vamp; and a zipper which extends along the gaiter to allow the user to open the gaiter for access to the vamp underneath, following a substantially spiral-shaped, curved path which begins behind the front portion of the gaiter, and ends at the upper mouth of the bootleg of the gaiter, after following, in the end stretch, a substantially helical trajectory about the axis of the bootleg that crosses the rear part of the bootleg of the gaiter.

The present invention relates to a mountaineering boot.

More in detail, the present invention relates to a high-altitudemountaineering boot, to which the following description will makeexplicit reference without this implying any loss of generality.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

As is known, mountaineering boots substantially comprise a leatherand/or synthetic fabric vamp which is designed to accommodate the user'sfoot and ankle roughly up to calf height, and is lined on the insidewith thermal-insulating material; and an sole made of rubber or othernon-slip elastomeric material and which has indented profile and isunmovably attached to the bottom part of the vamp by stitching and/orgluing, to completely cover the underside of the user's foot.

High-altitude mountaineering boots also have an outer gaiter made ofwaterproof fabric, and which is normally attached directly to theperipheral edge of the sole by stitching and/or gluing, and is shaped tosubstantially graze the outer surface of the vamp up to the top of thebootleg, where it tightens around the user's calf above the top edge ofthe bootleg, to cover the whole of the vamp.

To enable the user to easily put on and fastened the boot, the outergaiter has a watertight zipper extending along the front of the gaiter,roughly from the tarso-phalangeal area of the instep to the top of thegaiter, while remaining locally substantially coplanar with the verticalmidplane of the boot.

Unfortunately if the watertight zipper is located at the front of thevamp have, when walking the part of the zipper located at the ankle isrepeatedly subjected to bents and stretchings that, in the long term,may cause structural damages to the zipper, thus allowing the water topenetrate inside the footwear with all the problems this poses for theuser.

Mountaineer, in fact, is often used to act where the air is so cold asto freeze water in the space of a few seconds, even inside boots, andice formation inside boots may cause hypothermia and/or even frostbiteto the feet.

To obviate this drawback, some high-altitude mountaineering bootmanufacturers decided to use a watertight zipper which extends along thegaiter following a curved path that begins roughly at thetarso-phalangeal area of the instep, continues along the outer side ofthe vamp up to the bootleg, i.e. roughly up to the height of theastragalus, and finally curves upwards to the top of the gaiter whileremaining substantially parallel to the vertical axis of the boot-leg,i.e. parallel to the tibia.

However this new arrangement of the watertight zipper has made the bootmuch more harder to put on and fasten, because certain parts of the vampare hard to reach for the user when the gaiter is open.

Moreover, the particular conformation of the watertight zipper makes itdifficult to run the slider along the portion located at the malleolus,where the radius of curvature of the zipper is smaller, thus resultingin irregular local wear of the zipper body. Local wear that, in a shorttime, may impair the structural integrity of the zipper, with all theproblems this entails.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Aim of the present invention is to provide a mountaineering bootdesigned to prevent the wear of the watertight zipper of the outergaiter, without making put on and fasting of the boot more complicated.

In compliance with the above aims, according to the present invention,there is provided a mountaineering boot as claimed in claim 1 andpreferably, though not necessarily, in any one of the Claims dependenton claim 1.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A non-limiting embodiment of the present invention will be described byway of example with reference to the attached drawings, in which:

FIGS. 1 and 2 are two perspective views of a high-altitudemountaineering boot realized in accordance with the teachings of thepresent invention, with parts removed for clarity and in the closedconfiguration; whereas

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the FIG. 1 mountaineering boot in theopen configuration.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

With reference to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, number 1 indicates as a whole amountaineering boot, which may be advantageously used to playmountaineering at heights of over 4000-5000 metres.

Mountaineering boot 1 basically comprises an upper vamp 2 which ispreferably made of leather and/or synthetic fabric and/or otherflexible, preferably also waterproof, sheet material, is designed toaccommodate the foot and ankle of the user roughly up to the height ofthe calf, and is preferably lined on the inside with thermal-insulatingmaterial; and a lower sole 3 which is made of rubber or other non-slipelastomeric material, preferably has an indented profile, and isunmovably fixed, preferably by stitching and/or gluing, to the bottom ofvamp 2 to completely cover the underside of the user's foot.

With reference to FIG. 3, in the example shown, in particular, the vamp2 preferably has a longitudinal slit 4 which extends along the frontpart of vamp 2, roughly from the tarso-phalangeal area of the instep upto the upper mouth 5 of bootleg 6 of vamp 2 preferably while remainingsubstantially coplanar with the vertical midplane of the boot (notshown), and is designed to allow a widening of vamp 2 sufficient topermit/facilitate the introduction of the user's foot inside vamp 2; anda closing tongue 7 which is fixed to the front part of vamp 2 preferablyin a loosely manner, and extends inside vamp 2 grazing the longitudinalslit 4 preferably along substantially the whole length of longitudinalslit 4, to completely close the slit 4 up to the top of bootleg 6.

Alike the rest of vamp 2, also cover tongue 7 is preferably made ofleather and/or synthetic fabric and/or other flexible sheet material,preferably also of waterproof type.

Moreover, in the example shown, vamp 2 is preferably, though notnecessarily, designed so that the top end of bootleg 6 is located abovethe bottom of the calf and below the mid-portion of the calf.

Furthermore mountaineering boot 1 preferably also comprises asubstantially sock-shaped, inner liner 8 which is preferably made ofthermal-insulating material, is inserted removable manner inside thevamp 2 substantially up to the top of bootleg 6, and is designed tocover and protect both the foot and the lower part of the user's leg.Moreover inner liner 8 preferably has a semirigid structure, and ispreferably lined with soft and/or breathable material.

In the example shown, in particular, inner liner 8 is preferably made atleast partly of a low-density polymeric material foam.

Still with reference to FIG. 3, mountaineering boot 1 is also providedwith a manually-operated fastening system which is structured so as tobe able to selectively close/tighten the front slit 4 of vamp 2 toimmobilize the user's leg firmly inside vamp 2, or rather inside liner8.

In the example shown, in particular, the vamp fastening systempreferably comprises a number of lace-guide members, that is to say anumber of loops and/or eyelets and/or rings and/or hooks, appropriatelyarranged along the two edges of vamp 2 laterally bounding longitudinalslit 4, at least in the area above the instep; and a lace 9 of givenlength, which engages in pass-through manner and is succession thevarious lace-guide members, preferably alternating from one side to theother of longitudinal slit 4, so to selectively draw towards/againsteach other the two edges of vamp 2 laterally bounding slit 4, thus totighten and secure vamp 2 to the user's foot.

In other words, lace 9 is appropriately attached to vamp 2 to tightenthe vamp 2 and secure the user's foot inside mountaineering boot 1.

Furthermore in the example shown the vamp fastening system preferablyalso comprises an adjustable Velcro-fastened strap 10 which wraps aboutbootleg 6 and is designed to draw towards/against each other andreciprocally fasten the two edges of bootleg 6 laterally bounding theend of slit 4, thus to tighten bootleg 6 to the user's calf.

With reference to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, furthermore mountaineering boot 1 isalso provided with a waterproof outer gaiter 11 which completely coversthe vamp 2 substantially grazing the outer surface of vamp 2 up to thetop of bootleg 6; and with a substantially watertight zipper 12 whichextends along gaiter 11 so to allow the user to open the gaiter 11 foraccess to vamp 2 underneath.

More in detail, outer gaiter 11 is substantially sock-shaped so as tograze the outer surface of vamp 2 up to the top of bootleg 6, preferablythen extending beyond the top edge of bootleg 6 along the user's leg,and is preferably unmovably fixed in watertight manner directly to theperimetrical edge of sole 3 and/or to the bottom part of vamp 2,preferably without interruption and preferably by stitching and/orgluing.

Gaiter 11 therefore has a front portion 13 covering the tip of vamp 2; arear portion 14 covering the rear part of vamp 2; an outer side 15covering the outer side of vamp 2, i.e. the side of vamp 2 adjacent tothe outer longitudinal arch of the foot; an inner side 16 covering theinner side of vamp 2, i.e. the side of vamp 2 adjacent to the mediallongitudinal arch of the foot; and finally a substantially cylindrical,tubular bootleg 17 which covers the whole of bootleg 6 of vamp 2, andpreferably extends beyond the top edge of bootleg 6 along the user'sleg.

With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, in the example shown, in particular,gaiter 11 is preferably made of waterproof synthetic fabric and/or otherwaterproof flexible sheet material, preferably also of ballistic,cut-proof type.

Preferably, though not necessarily, gaiter 11 moreover has, roughly atthe upper part of the instep and/or at the front part of bootleg 17, anelasticized front insert 18 made of waterproof elastic fabric and/orother waterproof elastic sheet material. In other words, the elasticizedfront insert 18 of gaiter 11 extends roughly from the top of the instepto the top of bootleg 17.

Additionally gaiter 11 is preferably also provided with a front patch 19made of cured rubber or other elastomeric material, which is arranged tocover and protect the front portion 13 of gaiter 11; and a rear patch 20made of cured rubber or other elastomeric material, which is arranged tocover and protect the rear portion 14 of gaiter 11. Patches 19 and 20serve to prevent gaiter 11 from tearing on projecting ice or rock, andat the same time to protect the user's foot against impact on ice orrock.

With reference to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, zipper 12 instead extends alonggaiter 11 following a substantially spiral-shaped, curved path whichbegins behind the front portion 13 of gaiter 11, roughly at the part ofgaiter 11 vertically aligned to the tarso-phalangeal area of the foot,and ends at the upper mouth 21 of bootleg 17 after following, in the endstretch, a substantially helical trajectory about the vertical axis A ofbootleg 17 that preferably also crosses the rear part of bootleg 17,i.e. the part of bootleg 17 vertically aligned with rear portion 14 ofgaiter 11.

Preferably zipper 12 moreover reaches the rear part of bootleg 17 ofgaiter 11 substantially at the top edge of bootleg 6 of vamp 2.

In the example shown, in particular, zipper 12 extends along gaiter 11following a substantially spiral-shaped, curved path which preferablyends at the front part of bootleg 17, preferably after skirtingelasticized insert 18, and which runs in succession across the rear partand the inner side of bootleg 17 before reaching the edge of upper mouth21 of bootleg 17.

More in detail, with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, zipper 12 preferablyextends along gaiter 11 following a substantially spiral-shaped, curvedpath which begins near the front portion 13 of gaiter 11; runs acrossthe outer side 15 of gaiter 11, preferably while remaining above themalleolus, up to reach the rear part of bootleg 17 preferablysubstantially at the high of the top edge of bootleg 6 of vamp 2; andthen winds around bootleg 17 up to the upper mouth 21 of bootleg 17following a substantially helical trajectory that, in succession, runsacross the rear pat of bootleg 17, the inner side of bootleg 17, andfinally the front part of bootleg 17, and ends at the edge of uppermouth 21 of bootleg 17 at the front part of bootleg 17, preferablyskirting elasticized insert 18.

With reference to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, gaiter 11 is preferably alsoprovided with an elastic band 22 which surrounds the upper mouth 21 ofbootleg 17 and is designed to keep the top end of bootleg 17 firmlytight against the user's leg to prevent infiltration of water and/orsnow and/or ice.

Preferably, though not necessarily, gaiter 11 is also provided with aprojecting plate-like pad 23, which is made of soft material and isfixed to bootleg 17 near the point where the zipper 12 reaches the mouth21 of bootleg 17, so as to interpose itself between the slider 24 ofzipper 12 and the leg of the user.

Operation of mountaineering boot 1 can be deduced easily from the abovedescription, with no further explanation required.

The advantages resulting from the particular arrangement of zipper 12are large in number. Firstly, tests show that the substantiallyspiral-shaped path of watertight zipper 12 along gaiter 11 allows tokeep the value of the radius of curvature of watertight zipper 12 withinlimits that ensure normal, even wear along the whole length ofwatertight zipper 12, thus maximizing the working life of watertightzipper 12.

Furthermore, the particular arrangement of zipper 12 on gaiter 11 allowsthe user full and easy access to vamp 2, thus enabling the user to puton and fastened the mountaineering boot 1 faster than currently marketedmountaineering boots, with all the advantages this affords when the useroperates in severe environmental conditions.

Clearly, changes may be made to mountaineering boot 1 as describedherein without, however, departing from the scope of the presentinvention.

For example, in a different embodiment, zipper 12 extends along gaiter11 following a curved, substantially spiral-shaped path, which beginsnear the front portion 13 of gaiter 11; runs across the outer side 15 ofgaiter 11, preferably while remaining above the malleolus, up to reachthe rear part of bootleg 17, preferably substantially at the high of thetop edge of bootleg 6 of vamp 2; and then winds around bootleg 17 up tothe upper mouth 21 of bootleg 17 following a substantially spiral-shapedpath which, in succession, runs across the rear part of bootleg 17 andthe inner side of bootleg 17, and ends on the edge of upper mouth 21 ofbootleg 17 at the inner side of bootleg 17.

Furthermore, in a different embodiment, inner liner 8 may be integralwith vamp 2 and therefore unmovable.

Moreover, in a different embodiment, vamp 2 may be designed so that thetop end of bootleg 6 is located roughly at the bottom of the calf.

1. Mountaineering boot comprising: a vamp which is shaped so as toaccommodate the foot and the ankle of the user roughly to the height ofthe calf; a sole which is unmovably fixed onto the lower part of thevamp so as to cover the underside of the foot of the user; asubstantially sock-shaped, outer gaiter which completely covers the vampwhile substantially grazing the outer surface of the vamp up to the topof the bootleg of the vamp; and a zipper which extends along the gaiterso as to allow the user to open the gaiter to reach the beneath-locatedvamp; the mountaineering boot being characterized in that the zipperextends along the gaiter following a substantially spiral-shaped, curvedpath which begins near the front portion of the gaiter and ends at theupper mouth of the bootleg of the gaiter, after following, in the endstretch, a substantially helical trajectory about the axis of thebootleg.
 2. Mountaineering boot according to claim 1, characterized inthat the zipper extends along the gaiter following a substantiallyspiral-shaped, curved path which begins behind the front portion of thegaiter and ends at the upper mouth of the bootleg of the gaiter, afterhaving followed, in the end stretch, a substantially helical trajectoryabout the axis of the bootleg that crosses the rear part of the bootlegof the gaiter.
 3. Mountaineering boot according to claim 2,characterized in that the zipper winds around the bootleg of the gaiterup to the upper mouth of the bootleg, following a substantially helicaltrajectory that crosses, in succession, the rear part of the bootleg andthe inner side of the bootleg.
 4. Mountaineering boot according to claim3, characterized in that the zipper winds around the bootleg of thegaiter up to the upper mouth of the bootleg, following a substantiallyhelical trajectory that crosses, in succession, the rear part of thebootleg, the inner side of the bootleg and finally the front part of thebootleg, and ends at the edge of the upper mouth of the bootleg on thefront part of the bootleg.
 5. Mountaineering boot according to claim 1,characterized in that the zipper reaches the rear part of the bootleg ofthe gaiter substantially at the height of the upper edge of the bootlegof the vamp.
 6. Mountaineering boot according to claim 1, characterizedin that the gaiter is waterproof.
 7. Mountaineering boot according toclaim 1, characterized in that the zipper is a watertight zipper. 8.Mountaineering boot according to claim 1, characterized in that thebootleg of the gaiter extends beyond the top edge of the bootleg of thevamp along the user's leg.
 9. Mountaineering boot according to claim 1,characterized in that the gaiter is provided with a front elasticizedinsert which is arranged at the upper part of the instep and/or at thefront part of the bootleg of the gaiter.
 10. Mountaineering bootaccording to claim 1, characterized in that the gaiter is unmovably andwatertight fixed on the perimetrical edge of the sole and/or on thelower part of the vamp.
 11. Mountaineering boot according to claim 1,characterized in that the gaiter is also provided with a plate-likeprojecting pad made of soft material and which is fixed to the bootlegof the gaiter near the point where the zipper reaches the upper mouth ofthe bootleg, so as to interpose itself between the slider of the zipperand the leg of the user.
 12. Mountaineering boot according to claim 1,characterized in that the vamp is provided with a longitudinal slitextending along the front part of the vamp, roughly from thetarso-phalangeal area of the foot up to the upper mouth of the bootlegof the vamp; the mountaineering boot being moreover provided with amanually-operated upper fastening system which is structured so as to beable to selectively close/tighten the slit of the vamp to immobilize theleg of the user inside the vamp.
 13. Mountaineering boot according toclaim 12, characterized in that the upper fastening system comprises alace which engages in succession a number of lace-guiding membersarranged along the two edges of the vamp laterally delimiting thelongitudinal slit.
 14. Mountaineering boot according to claim 1,characterized by also comprising a substantially sock-shaped, innerliner which is made of a thermal-insulating material and is inserted inremovable manner inside the vamp substantially up to the top of thebootleg of the vamp.
 15. Mountaineering boot according to claim 14,characterized in that the inner liner has a semi-rigid structure.